


lie to tell the truth

by perfectlyrose



Series: on the same page [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Romance, and by that I mean post a better s8 where allura didn't die and friendships weren't ignored, so technically i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 21:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17989106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectlyrose/pseuds/perfectlyrose
Summary: “What do I need to do to keep Varlan from spending this whole summit hitting on me?” Shiro asks. “Because honestly, twenty minutes of that was more than enough for a lifetime.”“The easiest solution is for the two of you to keep acting like you’re together. It should keep him mostly at bay," Allura says.Shiro takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “You want us to pretend we’re dating for the entirety of the summit?”He sees Keith’s shoulders stiffen out of the corner of his eye.“Won’t hurt anything,” Lance chimes in. “You’re both chronically single so you won’t be stomping on anyone’s feelings except this Varlan guy, and it sounds like he deserves it, if you ask me.”Sure, pretending to date the love of his life won’t hurt anyone, Shiro thinks wildly. Absolutely nothing could go wrong here.or; Shiro claims to be in a relationship with Keith to avoid a pushy alien diplomat, fully aware that he is hopelessly in love with Keith and missed his chance to do anything about it years ago. Surely having a small taste of his dreams, in the form of a fake relationship, won't do any harm.





	lie to tell the truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kika988](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kika988/gifts).



> hey kika, so you know how i convinced you to sign up for this event??? i can't tell you how much cackling was involved when i got my assignment ♥ SURPRISE! I hope you enjoy this 16k serving of fake dating in honor of Shiro's birthday!
> 
> huge thanks to jess (sequencefairy / warpspeed_chic) for all the encouragement and for the read through!
> 
> written for the Shiro Birthday Exchange run by @/VLDexchange on twitter

Shiro’s smile feels more than strained as he talks to one of the Rinistian ambassadors. It has to be more of a grimace or a desperate baring of teeth at this point but Varlan, the ambassador in question, either hasn’t picked up on the difference or simply doesn’t care.

He leans closer, bending down slightly to speak closer to Shiro’s face. It takes all of his diplomatic training not to recoil. “It’s a shame for one as beautiful as you to be unmated,” he purrs. “I’d be more than willing to help you change your status.”

“I’m flattered,” Shiro manages to grit out. He’s losing even more control over his smile by the second, can feel it cracking at the edges as his hand tightens around his champagne glass. “I am already in a relationship with someone else, though.”

Varlan makes a disbelieving huff, standing back to his full height. “Can’t be a very good mate if they let you out of their range without a visible claim.” He rakes his eyes over Shiro, the stripes on his cheeks darkening. “Just asking for someone to steal you away. I would make sure everyone knew you were mine.”

Shiro frantically scans the room for an out as he chuckles nervously. “He knows I wouldn’t let myself be stolen,” he says. 

His eyes finally find Keith across the room. He and a few other Blades are at the summit as part of the larger Daibazaal contingent and as nominal security for Krolia and Kolivan. They make eye contact and Shiro hopes that his nonverbal scream for help gets through. Now would be a great time for Keith to reprise his role as Shiro’s personal savior.

It’s hard to read Keith’s facial expression from this far away but he can see the way his friend’s shoulders stiffen. As soon as he takes a step in Shiro’s direction, Shiro feels like heaving a sigh of relief.

“Maybe you just haven’t been offered the right incentive,” Varlan breathes. He’s stooping again, narrow tongue flicking out to wet his lips.

Shiro gulps and wishes his back wasn’t to the wall so he could retreat.

“Hey, Shiro.” This has to make it into the top five times he’s been overly glad to hear Keith’s voice. Shiro’s whole body instantly relaxes. “Who’s your friend?”

He wants to laugh at the way the word friend falls off Keith’s lips, making it sound like a horrific insult. He holds it in and slips an arm around Keith’s waist, pulling him close. His smile eases into something genuine as he feels his best friend slot in at his side, Keith’s arm immediately going around him as well without question.

“Keith, this is the Honorable Varlan Tr’yxian’i, Rinistian ambassador. Varlan, this is Keith, my  _ partner _ .”

Keith’s fingers tighten on Shiro’s waist as he aims a bland smile at the ambassador. “A pleasure, I’m sure.”

Varlan rears back, whole face going a darker shade of green. “You chose a lowly  _ Blade _ as your mate? Not even a promising looking one,” he sneers, giving Keith a dismissive once-over. “You could do so much better, Admiral.”

Shiro watches Keith’s smile turn sharp as his knife and shivers at it. “Maybe you better introduce me properly, babe,” he says, not breaking eye contact with Varlan.

A wave of heat rushes through Shiro at the casual use of a petname on Keith’s part but he pushes it away to deal with later with all the ease that years of being secretly in love with his best friend has given him.

“Sorry,” Shiro say, turning his head to press a quick kiss to Keith’s temple. Never say he wasn’t one to make the most of a bad situation. “Varlan, this is Commander Keith Kogane, Black Paladin of Voltron, Senior Blade of Marmora, and honored representative of both Daibazaal and Earth.”

Varlan’s top lip rolls up in a sneer. Keith meets it with a smile that is definitely more baring of teeth than social courtesy. His fangs flash in the ballroom’s muted light.

“I could start listing all his courtesy titles from other planets but then we’d be here all night,” Shiro continues, pretending to ignore the thick tension between the two men.

“I still can’t believe you memorized all of them,” Keith teases, breaking away from his staring contest to give Shiro a fond look.

“Course I did, baby. I’m so proud of you,” Shiro tells him, completely honest.

“You should take care to not let your mate wander so far from you unmarked, Blade,” Varlan cuts in, drawing their attention back to him. His face is dark with anger.

Shiro stiffens at the blatant disrespect being shown to Keith. “Varlan,” he starts, voice harsh.

Keith cuts him off, angling himself slightly in front of Shiro. “Was that a threat, Ambassador?” His eyes have gone hard, all traces of a smile wiped away.

Varlan draws himself up to full height, towering a full foot and a half over Keith, a blatant attempt at intimidation. “Just,” he pauses, “a suggestion.”

Shiro can feel the barely restrained violence vibrating under Keith’s skin. He’s not one to punch first and ask questions later these days, not outside of battle at least, but Shiro doesn’t want to test the bounds of his hardwon control. “Keith, I think Allura and Lance have arrived. We should go say hello.”

He nods and keeps his glare leveled on the Rinistian. “Don’t bother my mate again,” he says, a growl barely hiding beneath the even words. “You’ll regret it.”

Shiro nudges Keith to the side and he goes willingly, arm unwinding from around Shiro’s waist. Shiro’s traitorous heart mourns the loss of contact.

“You probably didn’t need to threaten him,” he whispers, keeping his hand pressed to the small of Keith’s back as they navigate the crowd.

“He started it,” Keith says petulantly. “And it was barely a threat.”

Shrio chuckles. “He did. Thanks for saving me, by the way. I kind of just threw you in the deep end there.”

“Anything for my  _ partner _ ,” Keith drawls, shooting Shiro a devastating grin over his shoulder.

“He wouldn’t listen to my repeated nos,” he tries to explain. “Couldn’t figure out how to escape without completely offending him.”

“Glad I could do the offending for you, then.”

Shiro groans. “I feel like I’m regressing to being about five, but he started that one too.”

Keith stops and turns to face Shiro. He settles a hand on his shoulder and arranges his face into the faux-innocent look that Shiro knows means nothing good is going to come out of his mouth.

“Well, you’re still a year shy of turning eight. Not regressing that far.”

Shiro closes his eyes and brings his hand up to cover his face. “I regret ever telling you my birthday.”

Keith squeezes his shoulder and lets his hand fall to rest against his bicep. “No you don’t.”

When Shiro chances a look at him again, Keith is smiling, small and genuine and ruinous. He’s breathtaking.

He stares at Keith, trying to understand how Varlan could find him lacking. Keith’s eyes are flashing with fading anger and his hair, starting to get long again, is tied back in a low ponytail tonight. He’s in what passes for a dress uniform amongst the Blades - a slightly less armored suit with no hood or mask and no actual blade to be seen.

Shiro’s mouth had gone dry when he’d first seen him earlier that evening from across the room. This many years in, he thinks he should be inured to Keith wrapped up in the sinfully tight Blades suit, but the sight hits him in the solar plexus every single time.

“So, where are your Senior Blade trappings tonight?” Shiro asks, reaching out to tap Keith’s chest where the wrappings usually cross.

Keith shrugs. “Left them off to blend in better. Didn’t want to take any focus off of Kolivan and my mom. They’re the ones in charge for the Dabaizaal delegation and presenting myself as Senior Blade could muddy the waters, you know?”

Pride is ready to burst out of Shiro’s chest. “Smart,” he says, trying to sound casual. He takes a hurried sip of his champagne as Keith’s thumb makes a small movement against his arm.

Keith’s mouth quirks up, a familiar smirk forming. “I am that, occasionally.”

“More than occasionally.” Oh no, that came out too fast, Shiro thinks. It’s fine. Completely fine. Him complimenting Keith on his many and varied talents is nothing new.

“Thanks, Shiro.” Keith squeezes his arm again and then drops his hand from Shiro’s arm.

“Want to actually go say hi to Lance and Allura with me? I haven’t gotten a chance yet.”

“Sure. Haven’t seen them in a few months,” Keith replies. “Missions haven’t taken me close to Altea or Earth recently.”

“I know,” Shiro admits. He knocks his shoulder against Keith’s as they start walking, craving more contact. “I haven’t seen you in months, either.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “We video chat at least once a week when I’m not out of range, Shiro.”

“Doesn’t count.”

“It does too. You see more of me than literally any other single person.”

Shiro bites down on his tongue before his immediate thoughts of how much he wants to see more of Keith, all of Keith, can spill out of his mouth. He drains the rest of his champagne and sets the empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter.

“Pretty sure I talk to you more often than I talk to my mom when we’re not on the same planet,” Keith continues, oblivious to Shiro’s blush.

He swallows hard. “I still miss you when we haven’t met up in person in a while, though.”

Keith smiles up at him, violet eyes full of affection. “I miss you too. I’ll try to visit more often.”

“I’d like that.” Shiro’s answering smile is a little shy. The star that burns in the middle of his chest, made up entirely of his love for the shadowbright boy in front of him, flares brighter for a moment as they stare at each other.

“Shiro! Keith! What’s up?” Lance’s loud greeting knocks them out of whatever moment they were having and Shiro tries not to scowl at their friend.

“Hey Lance,” Keith replies easily. “Where’s your better half?”

“Slowly following behind him,” Allura says, catching up and wrapping an arm around her husband so she could lean on him. “Keith, Shiro. It’s wonderful to see you both.”

“You as well,” Shiro says, moving in for quick hugs with both of them. “Was your trip alright?”

“Uneventful,” Allura confirms.

“No ship or motion sickness,” Lance says proudly.

“Must mean you weren’t piloting,” Keith teases, punching Lance lightly in the shoulder.

“Hey!”

“You’re looking great,” Keith tells Allura. Her stomach is gently rounded, housing twins set to enter the world in three pheobs or so. “Everything going good with my future niece and nephew?”

Shiro wants to melt at the softness in Keith’s voice, the obvious excitement he holds for their friends.

“Everything’s going perfectly.” Allura smiles and leans more into Lance who turns to press a kiss to the side of her head. “How are the pair of you?”

“Just catching up,” Shiro says with a grin. “Haven’t seen him in months, you know.”

“Shiro, we  _ just _ talked about this,” Keith bursts out, tone all fond exasperation. He looks at Allura and Lance. “We video chat all the time. He’s seen me.”

“But not in person!”

“Not to interrupt the two of you once again acting more like a married couple than the actual married couple you’re talking to but there’s a big green alien dude staring daggers at you,” Lance says.

Shiro sighs. “Rinistian?”

Allura nods. “Friend of yours?”

“Not exactly,” Shiro hedges.

Allura and Lance both raise an eyebrow in eerie unison.

“He was harassing Shiro earlier,” Keith explains, jaw tight. Shiro looks down and sees his fists are clenched too. He nudges one with his own hand and feels it release.

“Keith swoop in and make him stop?” Lance asks, a grin spreading over his face. “I would’ve paid to see that. That guy is so much taller than you, Keith.”

“I’m well aware,” Keith replies, voice desert-dry.

“Keith helped me get away by, um…” he trails off, cheeks flaming pink.

“I threatened him,” Keith finishes for him, “after Shiro introduced me as his mate.”

“He  _ what _ ?” Lance squawked.

“Oh, I’m so happy for you two!” Allura gushes at the same time, a smile lighting up her face.

Keith looks a little stunned at their reactions. Shiro lays his hand on his shoulder, grounding contact for both of them.

“We’re not actually together,” he says. Even his ears feel like they’re on fire now. It’s not a good look for one of the senior members of the delegation from Earth. “Varlan wasn’t taking no for an answer so I said I was already with someone and then Keith came to rescue me and played along.”

Lance lets out a long sigh and gives Keith an indecipherable look. “Of course he did.”

Something like guilt flashes over Keith’s face before he looks down at his feet. Shiro frowns, squeezing his shoulder. He doesn’t have anything to feel guilty over. Shiro’s the one who got them into the situation, who had selfishly enjoyed calling Keith his partner and holding him close.

He realized years too late to do anything about it that he was in love with Keith. Having him close as his best friend in the universe is enough. Stolen moments where he can pretend they had better timing and are something more are infinitely precious.

“You do realize that the Rinistian is going to be keeping a close eye on the both of you for the remainder of the summit, yes?” Allura says, eyes shifting from Shiro to Keith and back. “If he didn’t respect your rebuffs earlier, he likely won’t respect whatever verbal claim Keith made either.”

“I can handle myself,” Shiro says. “I was just trying to not cause a diplomatic incident at the welcome party.”

“I know you can, Shiro. Rinistians are very…” she pauses, searching for the right word, “single minded. If he has decided he wants you as his mate, he’s not going to back off easily.”

“Got that impression already,” Keith mutters. “He made it very clear that he thought I was not a worthy mate for Admiral Shirogane, here.”

Allura snorts. “Nonsense. Shiro couldn’t do better than you.”

Shiro’s cheeks, which had started to cool down, turn red again. He shoots Allura a panicked look, silently begging her not to even hint at his feelings. They’d gotten drunk together two years ago while Lance was away for a diplomatic appearance with Hunk and Shiro was on leave. He’d ended up spilling his heart out about four drinks in.

So far, the most she’s done with that information is subtly nudge him towards Keith and manufacture a few reasons for them to be alone together. He really hopes that she isn’t choosing now to escalate.

Keith quirks a smile that’s a shade too self-deprecating for Shiro. “Thanks, Allura.”

“What do I need to do to keep Varlan from spending this whole summit hitting on me?” Shiro asks. “Because honestly, twenty minutes of that was more than enough for a lifetime.”

Keith looks at him, furrow forming between his brows. “He had you cornered for that long?”

“It wasn’t too bad for the first five minutes or so. I thought he was just being polite.” He reaches out and circles Keith’s wrist for a second before letting go. “I’m fine, Keith.”

“The easiest solution is for the two of you to keep acting like you’re together. It should keep him mostly at bay.”

Shiro takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “You want us to pretend we’re dating for the entirety of the summit?”

He sees Keith’s shoulders stiffen out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s merely a suggestion, Shiro.” Allura rests a hand on her stomach.

“Won’t hurt anything,” Lance chimes in. “You’re both chronically single so you won’t be stomping on anyone’s feelings except this Varlan guy, and it sounds like he deserves it, if you ask me.”

Sure, pretending to date the love of his life won’t hurt anyone, Shiro thinks wildly. Absolutely nothing could go wrong here.

“Shiro?” The wrinkle between his brows is deeper now as Keith turns to face him head on. “Hey, we can figure something else out. I can have someone from my team tail him and keep him away from you.”

Shiro shakes his head. “I can’t take your team away from their duties, Keith.”

Keith crosses his arms. “No one else can maneuver him away from you without causing an incident. I’m not letting this guy bother you for the next three days, Shiro. No way.”

“I’ve dealt with worse,” Shiro says with a shrug, wrinkling his nose.

Keith’s expression darkens. “Not while I’ve been around. You shouldn’t have to put up with that.”

“I agree, but it comes with the territory, sometimes.”

He watches as Keith’s mouth sets into a hard line, a sure sign he’s come to some sort of decision. “I’ve already told him he’ll regret bothering you,” Keith says. 

His voice is gentler than Shiro expected, going by his expression, but it’s laced with steel. Whatever he’s decided, it’s not going to be easy to talk him out of it.

“Let’s just,” he waves a hand, “play it out. Like Allura said. As long as he thinks I’m your mate, I can keep him away from you without bringing politics into it. It’ll just be a personal grudge. Besides,” he flashes a grin that’s a little sharper than what anyone would consider safe, “everyone knows that Galra are very protective of their mates.”

Shiro heart trips over itself at the reminder. He hadn’t considered that  _ mate _ would have more meaning to Keith after the last few years of learning about his Galra heritage. He sucks in a breath. “You’d be okay doing this?”

“Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t. Besides, it means we have an excuse to stick close to each other outside of meetings.”

“You two do that anyways,” Lance cuts in. “I doubt people would talk about it too much.”

“I can deal with a bit of gossip,” Shiro decides. “You?”

Keith makes a face. “Yeah, I can handle it. The universe has been speculating about the state of our relationship for years. Might as well give them something new to talk about.”

“That’s the spirit!” Allura says. Keith steps back to Shiro’s side. “If you need any help with your green problem, just let us know.”

“We will,” Shiro says. “I know you have mingling to do, don’t let us keep you.”

Allura fixes him with a knowing look. “Have fun.”

Shiro’s cheeks flush and he almost misses the staredown Keith and Lance are having. He’s not sure what exactly is going on there but Lance looks away first.

“Fine,” he mutters, “but we’ll be talking about this later.”

Keith shifts his weight. “Fine.”

“See you two later. Don’t get in any more trouble!” Allura smiles and then nudges Lance to the left, whispering in his ear as she points out the next person she needs to talk to.

“So, what was that with Lance?”

Shiro watches with interest as Keith’s face turns red. He ducks his head in an attempt to hide behind his bangs. “Nothing,” he mutters. “Just Lance being his normal annoying self.”

Shiro knocks his shoulder against Keith’s. “Didn’t look like nothing. And you can’t fool me, I know you’re friends.”

“He’s trying to meddle in things that aren’t any of his business,” Keith explains further after a couple moments.

“Mmm, sounds familiar,” Shiro says, thinking of Allura’s attempts at meddling. Truly a perfect match for each other, those two, he thinks.

Keith peeks over his shoulder and Shiro watches his eyes harden. “He’s watching us still,” Keith growls. Shiro starts to turn but freezes when Keith surges up and presses a kiss just off the corner of his mouth. 

Keith is gone before Shiro can even react, back to directing a glare over Shiro’s shoulder at Varlan. The possessive glint in his violet eyes sends a thrill through Shiro and, because he can, he reaches out and takes Keith’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

He wonders if Keith is this protective and possessive in a real relationship.

“You’re going to burn an unsuspecting bystander with that glare,” Shiro says, voice low. “Probably don’t need to start things off with your best death stare.”

Keith scoffs and breaks the glare to look at Shiro instead, eyes softening instantly. “Nowhere near my best, come on Shiro.”

“Well, now I’m terrified. I hope I never have to witness it. I don’t doubt your abilities to actually set things on fire.” Shiro quirks a smile. “Is he still watching?”

“Yes.” There’s a growl in his voice.

Shiro squeezes his hand. “Looking is better than trying to talk or touch.”

There’s murder in Keith’s eyes when he swings them back to Shiro. “Did he touch you?”

“No.” He knocks their joined hands against Keith’s hip. “I would’ve punched him myself if he had.”

“Good.” Keith takes a deep breath and some of the fire and tension escapes when he lets it out. He looks mildly embarrassed when he offers Shiro a smile. “Sorry, I know you can more than handle these things on your own.”

“I like you taking care of me,” Shiro says, the words escaping before he can think to hold them back. He scrambles to mitigate them, cheeks heating up. “I mean, I don’t mind having some help or backup, especially when it’s you.”

He wants to slap his hand over his face. That was  _ not _ any better.  _ Get it together, Takashi _ .

But Keith’s smile just goes softer around the edges. “Good,” he repeats. “I like helping you.”

Shiro isn’t sure whether he’s disappointed or grateful that Keith didn’t say he likes taking care of him. He’s not sure he’d ever recover from hearing those words but he’s imagined them countless times.

He fights against the blush he feels creeping up the back of his neck. These are not thoughts he needs to be having in public, at a diplomatic event, in front of Keith. He refuses to make his friend uncomfortable. He’s survived five years of knowing with absolutely no doubts that he is in love with his best friend and pretending that he isn’t and he’s not going to ruin the game now.

“Should we go mingle?” Shiro asks.

“I’m here as security detail, I’m not required to mingle,” Keith teases. “But lead the way, Captain.”

He shivers at the way Keith’s voice wraps around his old title. “Behind the times, Keith,” he shoots back.

“Mmm, fine. Admiral. Ambassador.” Keith squeezes his hand and levels him with a devastating smile. “They don’t have the same ring as Captain.”

“Okay, Commander.” Shiro watches with delight as pink blooms along Keith’s cheekbones. “I need to go make nice with the Tyniil ambassador before they get insulted. They’re starting to turn blue and that’s never a good sign.”

Keith follows his eyes over to the Tynill in question and winces. “Yeah, lets go head that off before they start yelling. I don’t want that particular headache again.”

Shiro squeezes his hand and then disentangles their fingers. “Again?” He presses his hand to Keith’s back as they start weaving through the crowd again.

He groans. “It’s embarrassing. I’ll tell you about it when there’s not a chance of it somehow getting back to Lance.”

“I look forward to it.”

And with that they started the diplomatic rounds Shiro was required to complete, talking to most of the species that were present at the summit. Keith stays at his side the whole time, a steadying presence. He reaches out and rests his hand on Keith’s back, on his arm, on his shoulder, just revelling in the fact that he can touch without raising questions.

He doesn’t think he’s imagining that Keith leans into his touches but he’s trying not to read into it too much. Keith is playing a part and he always does everything to the best of his ability, especially when it relates to protecting Shiro.

“Doing okay?” Shiro asks as they walk away from the Arusian ambassador.

“I’m really glad that I’m not any kind of official diplomat,” Keith answers.

“You realize that you are, right? You literally have diplomatic status on Earth and Daibazaal.”

Keith makes a face and Shiro laughs.

“Been keeping an eye on Varlan?” Shiro asks quietly. He’s tried to keep tabs on him as they move through the room but he also has to concentrate on his conversations. Plus, he knows Keith has his back, which makes his usual hypervigilance relax a little bit. 

Keith nods, head swivelling to where he saw him last. His lip peels back in a snarl and Shiro turns to find Varlan only ten feet away, eyes locked on the pair of them and rapidly approaching.

“Admiral,” Varlan says in greeting, voice oil-slick. Any pretense of friendliness drops as he makes eye contact with Keith. “Blade.”

Shiro bristles at the disrespect but Keith doesn’t seem bothered. “Ambassador,” Keith returns. His tone is carefully polite in a way that sets Shiro on edge far more than outright hostility would.

“You’re sticking close to your mate, now. Feeling threatened?”

Shiro slides his arm around Keith’s waist again. “He has no need to feel threatened, Ambassador Varlan. We are simply enjoying the evening together.”

Varlan’s jaw twitches at Shiro’s formal address. “Of course. It’s not like an undersized, halfbreed Blade has anything better to do than hang off your arm all night, after all.”

Keith’s suddenly tight grip on him is the only thing that prevents Shiro from taking a swing at the Rinistian in the middle of the ballroom.

“I am making my diplomatic rounds, same as Shiro,” Keith replies evenly. “Please feel free to speak to Representative Krolia and Representative Kolivan if you believe I’m shirking my duties for the evening. They’ll be happy to back me up.”

Shiro’s still itching to throw a punch but the image of Varlan trying to lodge a complaint against Keith to his mother and the man who is likely to be his stepfather in the future is good too.

“You think you’re some big shot but you’re  _ nothing _ ,” Varlan hisses. “You’re re-”

“Insult my mate again and I’ll see that you are removed from this summit and stripped of your diplomatic credentials by the Coalition,” Shiro interrupts, voice cold and low. His fingers dig into the stiff fabric of Keith’s uniform as he grounds himself. “You’re testing the limits of my patience, Ambassador. You don’t want to find out what happens when it’s gone.”

Shiro doesn’t wait for a response, just grabs Keith’s hand and pulls him in the opposite direction of the Rinistian. He makes for a side door, needing some air and a modicum of privacy to get himself back under control.

The moment they’re in the hallway and away from the crush of people, Shiro releases him and slumps against the wall. He catches a glimpse of the worry on Keith’s face before he closes his eyes and focuses on taking deep breaths.

“Shiro? Are you okay?” He can feel Keith hovering close by. Knowing he won’t touch unless told it’s okay, Shiro blindly reaches out a hand. Keith takes it in an instant, stepping even closer. “Shiro?”

“I’m fine,” he assures him.

“This doesn’t look like fine. This looks like the edge of a panic attack.”

Shiro’s eyes fly open. “I’m not panicking,” he grinds out. Keith’s eyebrows shoot up at his tone of voice. “I’m furious and trying to resist going back in there and punching that idiot’s face in.”

“You’d hurt your hand,” Keith says, squeezing it.

“I could use the metal one. He deserves it.”

Keith crowds closer still, reaching up with his free hand to brush a strand of Shiro’s hair back into place. “You’d feel bad about it afterwards. It’s not worth it.”

“It is worth it,” Shiro insists. Keith seems mostly unbothered by the Rinistian’s insults but they’re still ringing in Shiro’s ears. “He insulted you. Repeatedly.”

Oddly, the reminder makes Keith’s lips quirk up in a smile. “That’s what has you riled up?”

Shiro nods. “You shouldn’t have to listen to that.”

“Shiro, I’ve been called much worse that anything this guy can even imagine to my face, multiple times. It’s not a big deal.”

Shiro’s heart clenches. Keith shouldn’t be so used to being denigrated like this. “It  _ is _ a big deal. You shouldn’t have to deal with that, Keith. I will  _ gladly _ punch anyone who insults you like that.”

“I appreciate it,” Keith says, smile still lingering on his face. “I mostly do my own punching, though. Zethrid occasionally likes to help.”

“I bet she does,” Shiro mutters. “I’m glad the generals have your back out there.”

“They’re a good team. They make me be the diplomatic one, though, which is weird.”

Shiro laughs at the disgruntled look that flashes over Keith’s face and the last of his anger melts away. “It’s good for you.”

“So people keep saying. You ready to go back in there? Party’s winding down but it’s probably a little too early for both of us to disappear without everyone talking about it for the rest of the summit.”

Heat rushes down Shiro’s spine as he realizes what it must have looked like to everyone when he pulled Keith out of the room like that. “Everyone thinks we snuck away to make out, don’t they?”

Keith smirks. “Shiro, there was zero sneaking involved in you dragging me out of the ballroom.”

Shiro groans and lets his head fall back to thunk against the wall. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just needed to be away from people for a minute so I could breathe and not punch Varlan.”

“I get that,” Keith soothes, squeezing his hand. “We do still have to go face everyone for another half hour, though.”

Shiro opens his eyes, letting them fill with pleading. “You’ll protect me, right?”

Keith rolls his eyes but not before Shiro catches the softening of his expression. “You don’t need to pull out the puppy dog eyes, Shiro. You know I will.”

Shiro doesn’t fight the grin that blooms on his face. He uses their joined hands to pull Keith into a hug, startling a huff of laughter from him. “I know,” he says, burying his face in Keith’s shoulder for just a moment. This hug is for him, not for their act and he wants to savor it. “I’ll protect you too.”

“It’s what we do.” Keith’s words are muffled by Shiro’s suit jacket. He can just barely feel his breath ghosting over the edge of his collar.

Shiro tightens his grip for just a fraction of a second and then reluctantly lets go. “Time to go face the music, I guess.”

Keith gives him an assessing look and then reaches to tug at his suit jacket. “You look far too put together for someone who just spent a few minutes alone with their mate.”

“Mess me up then.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them. His cheeks flare bright red.

Keith looks frozen for a moment before grinning. “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Shiro doesn’t breathe as Keith reaches up and musses up his hair a little bit. If he breathes, the moan building in his chest at the feel of Keith’s fingers in his hair might escape and ruin everything. Keith moves his hands down to Shiro’s shoulders and clutches at the fabric there, wrinkling it slightly.

“You do this kind of thing a lot?” Shiro asks. His voice comes out too low, too raspy.

Keith’s expression is unreadable as he shakes his head. “Bite your lips,” he instructs and Shiro does it as much to contain his whine as anything else.

Keith is biting his own lips, turning them red and swollen and Shiro wants to do that for him more than anything. 

He reaches up to his own hair but Shiro bats his hands away and sinks his fingers into Keith’s soft mass of hair. Every time he has the opportunity to touch, he’s always enthralled with how thick it is, how his fingers can just slide through.He cups the back of Keith’s head and then lets his fingers disentangle. Strands of hair escape the elastic holding them in place and fall forward to frame Keith’s face. The Blade uniform is too form fitting to rumple and it’s the only fault Shiro’s ever found with it.

With his disheveled hair, bitten lips, and wide eyes, he looks well kissed and Shiro is committing the sight to memory. He can at least have this, even if he never gets the opportunity to make Keith look like this in reality.

“Ready?” Keith asks. His voice is a rasp and Shiro feels it down his spine.

He nods and tugs at his jacket, breathing deep before the tingling arousal can get its hooks too far into him. “Let’s go.”

They slip back into the party, Keith stepping into the ballroom first. Shiro follows, cheeks still hot. A few knowing looks and sly smiles are directed their way but no one says anything. Shiro is thankful for their respective high positions making them less of a target for direct teasing.

“Not too bad,” Keith murmurs, close to his ear. “People are talking but no one seems scandalized.”

“It’s not like we’re the only people to sneak away,” Shiro says petulantly.

“Just the most highly ranked,” Keith replies with a pat to Shiro’s arm, “even with me in less recognizable uniform. And I’m pretty sure everyone else did a better job of sneaking.”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope.”

Shiro sighs, loud and overdramatic.

“Big baby,” Keith teases, elbowing him in the ribs.

“You’re the one who pointed out that I’m not even eight, yet,” Shiro reminds him. “I am fully justified.”

Keith makes a dissenting noise and snags two glasses of champagne as a waitress passes them. He hands one to Shiro and holds his up for a toast. “To a successful summit,” he says, eyes dark and locked on Shiro’s.

“To a successful summit,” Shiro repeats. They clink the rims of their glasses together and don’t break eye contact as they drink. Shiro wants to blame the bubbly for the heat pooling in his belly, but he knows it’s all Keith.

He swallows hard and looks away before his feelings become obvious on his face. “Do we need to talk to anyone else?”

“You’re the one with diplomatic demands on your time,” Keith says, voice flat. “You tell me.”

Shiro looks back up to find his friend’s face completely blank. “I think we’re done, unless you want to go talk to Krolia and Kolivan.”

Keith shakes his head. “I’ll fill them in tonight when there’s not an audience. You’ll see them in meetings tomorrow. You and my mom have almost the same schedule.”

“At least I know there will be one familiar face,” Shiro says carefully. He’s not sure what he did, but he knows instinctively that he caused this mood shift in Keith. “I didn’t see you listed as attending any of the same meetings I am.”

“I’ll be with Kolivan in tomorrow’s meeting on joint defense and will be the Blade and Dabaizaal representative in the day two meeting on humanitarian efforts in the Tybolian and Viri Systems.”

Shiro smiles. “Good.”

Keith looks at him finally. “We’re going to be okay, right?”

It’s the first time Keith has seemed less than confident and willing to go along with this whole thing. Shiro reaches out and rests his hand on Keith’s shoulder, drawing his own comfort from the familiar contact. “Of course we are. And if you want to call this off at anytime, just let me know. I can deal with Varlan another way.”

Keith shakes his head. “I won’t make you. That asshole has to deal with both of us wanting to punch him. I won’t give him the pleasure of thinking he’s won something.”

Shiro chuckles. “Alright then. Is he still here?”

Keith’s eyes flit over Shiro’s left shoulder and darken, his mouth hardening into a thin line. “Yup. Still staring at us as much as he can get away with.”

“At least if he’s fixated on me, he won’t be harassing anyone else,” Shiro says, holding back a sigh.

“He shouldn’t be harassing anyone at all,” Keith shoots back. “You really should report him to the summit organizers so they at least know to look out for him in the future.”

“I’ll write up a report,” Shiro promises. He lets his hand fall from Keith’s shoulder.

Keith keeps glaring at Varlan. Shiro finds his hand and laces their fingers back together and plants a quick kiss on Keith’s cheek.

Keith’s attention is back on him in a flash, a flush creeping across his face. “What was that for?”

Shiro shrugs and goes with the truth. “Because I could.”

Keith’s eyes flick back to the room at large and he snorts. “Well, you managed to piss Varlan off enough that he’s storming out of the ballroom.”

That’s a nice bonus, Shiro thinks, but not even close to the reason he bestowed the gesture of affection on his friend. As long as Keith thinks that it’s all for show, Shiro can do so many of the things he’s always wanted to.

“That means we can probably skip out now,” Keith says, focus coming back to Shiro. “Allura and Lance are gone too.”

Shiro does a visual sweep of the room and sees many of the high-ranking diplomats making their farewells and notes many of them have already retired. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

They slip out of the room in a far more discreet manner than last time. Shiro flashes a few people smiles and waves goodbye as Keith leads them to one of the side exits.

“You know how to get back to your room from here?” Keith asks. “This base is a bit of a maze.”

“I wouldn’t mind an escort, if you’re offering,” Shiro hedges. He’s pretty sure he can get to his room unassisted but he’d also like to spend as much time with Keith as possible.

A raised eyebrow tells him that Keith is onto his game but he navigates through the halls with Shiro anyways. The silence that stretches between them as they walk isn’t quite as comfortable as it usually is, but it’s not quite strained either. 

“Thanks again for the rescue tonight,” Shiro says as they turn into the hallway where his room is located.

“Anytime.” The sincerity ringing in Keith’s voice is almost too much.

Shiro sucks in a carefully even breath and turns to face Keith as they come to a stop outside his room. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this without even asking if…”

“I agreed to doing this, Shiro,” Keith reminds him, steel underpinning his words. “And without asking me if what?”

“If you were seeing anyone who might object to you pretending to be my partner for all of this.”

Keith pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a sigh. “Again, Shiro, we talk all the time.” He looks up, exasperation clear on his face. “You would know if I was seeing someone. Which I’m not. So, stop worrying that being your mate for a few days is a hardship for me. It’s not.”

Shiro’s mouth turns up into a smile. “Okay. I’ll, um, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Definitely. I have your schedule,” Keith says.

“Of course you do. Send me yours?”

“Maybe.”

“And if I told you it was an order, Commander?”

Keith sways in closer. “I’d remind you that you’re no longer, technically, my commanding officer, sir.”

Shiro wants to lean forward and kiss the teasing smirk right off Keith’s face. He presses his hand to the lock instead, letting the loud slide of the door opening distract him. “Like that’s ever been a factor in if you follow an order or not,” Shiro shoots back.

Keith just grins. “Goodnight, Shiro. I’ll see you at breakfast, probably.”

“Night, Keith.”

The door slides shut and Shiro leans back against it, listening for Keith’s departing footsteps before remembering that he’s in uniform and practically silent with it. 

He lets out a sigh. The next three days are going to play havoc on his heart, he has no doubt. This act he and Keith are putting on is like having the merest taste of his dreams while knowing they’re still unattainable, like staring at the stars back when he had no way of reaching them.

Shiro pushes off the door and tugs at his tie, unraveling the knot before starting on the buttons of his shirt. Loving Keith is a constant in his life. He just took too long to realize that he loves Keith in a way more than just a best friend, a brother-in-arms. Keith is those things, but he’s also the man Shiro wants to shower in kisses and drown in affection and be pushed into bed by.

Romantic relationships have never been Shiro’s forte by any means, but realizing that he was  _ in love _ with Keith four months after Honerva’s defeat, as he watched the Blades transport Keith was on launch, was a new low for him. He had worked his way through the revelation, remembered the desperation of Keith’s swords-edge confession, and let hope that maybe he wasn’t feeling this alone sink its hooks into him.

Atlas launched back into space two months after Keith left and Shiro had hoped he’d get to see Keith all the sooner for it. His heart was bursting with the need to tell Keith exactly how he felt and he wanted to do it in person, not over one of their frequent comm calls.

Shiro pulls off his jacket and hangs it in the wardrobe as he remembers the late night call he got from Keith a month into the Atlas’s mission, seven months since the end of the war and three since the last time they saw each other in person. He remembers the shy, nervous look that passed over Keith’s face when Shiro asked what was going on in his life, remembers every hesitation and unsure glance at the screen Keith gave as he told Shiro about a guy he met and was going on a date with the next day. Just the local equivalent of going for coffee, he said, but Keith was nervous.

Shiro had talked him through it, pushing aside the aching in his own heart. The next time they talked, Keith said nothing about the date until Shiro asked. It had gone well but Keith was leaving the quadrant and there wasn’t enough there for either of them to want to try long distance dating.

It was then that Shiro started keeping the decidedly non-platonic tint of his feelings towards Keith locked down tight. He wasn’t going to let his yearning heart ruin the longest lasting and best relationship of any sort he’d ever had. Keith had given him everything, saved him time and time again. Shiro wasn’t going to be selfish and ask for anything more.

Shiro finishes stripping out of his suit, hanging it back up and dumping the shirt and undershirt in his laundry bag with a heavy sigh. He knows Keith loves him, he just also knows that it’s a different kind of love than what Shiro dreams of. If Keith ever loved him that way, it was long ago, back when they were still embroiled in the war. Keith’s moved on. Shiro wishes he knew how to do the same.

He thinks back to the handful of dates he’s gone on in the five years since the war ended. They were all perfectly nice, for the most part. Good food and good conversation with good looking men, but then Shiro would make a particularly horrid pun or a too-morbid joke and look up expecting to see an exasperated twinkle in violet eyes or hear a rough chuckle that escaped on accident. He was usually met by a shocked or horrified expression instead.

He rarely went on a second date and rarely told Keith about the failed first ones. It always felt too raw and he couldn’t very well tell Keith that the dates went sideways because the man sitting across from Shiro wasn’t  _ Keith _ .

But now, Shiro thinks as he sits on the side of his bed and fiddles with his phone, now he has a taste of what a relationship with Keith is like and he craves more, more, more. His greedy heart is gorging itself on stolen affection.

He sighs again and crawls under the covers. He can do this. He can love Keith openly for the next few days without letting on that it’s not actually an act. At the end, he’ll have every little moment to hold onto to light up his darker nights. He can do this and come out the other side with no more than a slightly bruised heart. He’s sure of it.

His phone lights up with a message from Keith. “Following hypothetical orders, sir,” it reads. Shiro opens up the attachment and finds Keith’s schedule for the next day, the timeslots where he and Shiro overlap highlighted in purple. Shiro smiles down at his phone and shoots off a reply before burying his grin in his pillow and forcing himself to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“Lance, I didn’t think  _ later _ meant tonight,” Keith growls when he finds Lance waiting outside his room after leaving Shiro.

“If I didn’t corner you now, you’d spend the rest of the summit avoiding me and this conversation,” Lance retorts.

Keith hates that he’s right. He slaps his hand against the scanner and stalks into his room, not looking to see if Lance follows.

“So, fake dating Shiro. Great plan,” Lance drawls.

“You seemed all for it, earlier.” Keith turns to face him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Told us to go for it.”

“I did. Kinda hoping that it’ll force both of you to get your respective heads out of your asses.”

“Nothing’s going to change, Lance,” Keith says with a sigh. “I’ve been in love with him for close to a decade at this point and a few days of this isn’t going to change a thing.”

Lance raises an eyebrow. “So, not going to mention the fact that calling him your mate when you feel the way you do could trigger a provisional mate bond?”

Panic shoots through Keith. “How do you even know that?”

“Allura. Plus I did some research of my own while I was waiting for you.”

“It’s not going to happen,” Keith grits out. “I have more control than that and am only half Galra.”

“Mate bonds are not affected by how Galra you are and you know it.”

“It’s not going to be a problem!”

“Keith, just tell him how you feel. He loves you too, man.”

Keith deflates and sinks down on the edge of his bed. “Not like that, he doesn’t. You know I already told him once. He’s had plenty of time to tell me if he feels the same way.”

“Keith,” Lance says, voice gentle as he sits down next to him, “It’s been like, six years at least since you confessed. And that was in the middle of a fight to the death that neither of you like to remember. Maybe you could try again, let him know that you still feel the same as you did then.”

“What if that ruins everything? I can’t lose Shiro, not to this.” He looks up to meet Lance’s eyes. “I can’t lose him.”

Lance rubs a hand up and down Keith’s back. “I know, buddy. But maybe you’re losing him in a different way by not telling him.”

“Being his friend isn’t  _ less _ ,” Keith says slowly. “It’s not less than being his…”

“Boyfriend,” Lance supplies. Keith makes a face.

“Being his friend isn’t like… a consolation prize or some shit.”

“I know that. I get it, dude. Just… maybe let yourself hope a little. I know you don’t want to hear it, but Shiro loves you. He does. Just keep your eyes open, okay? Judge for yourself “

“Yeah, okay.”

“So, you good? Going to survive a few days of making really obvious moon eyes at your man and hanging off his arm?”

Keith rolls his eyes. “That’s not happening.”

“Oh, it’s already happened. I had to witness it.”

“Why are we friends?”

“Too many bonding moments to ignore. The universe forced us into it,” Lance answers with a grin. He thumps Keith on the back. “Now, I’m going back to my room where I left my beautiful wife. Let me know if you need to talk again or if I need to have a stern talk with Shiro.”

“Not going to offer to beat him up for me?”

“First off, you’re one of the only people who can maybe manage that. Second, he would put me in the ground and then Allura would have to kill him and you’d try to kill her. We’re not going down that road.”

Keith laughs. “Fine. No stern talks will be necessary. It’s fine.”

Lance gives him a long look, face serious in a way he doesn’t let many see. “Okay. But let me know if that changes.”

“Will do. Now get out of here so I can get out of this suit and get some sleep.”

“On my way. See you at breakfast.”

Lance lets himself out and Keith flops back on his bed, pulling out his phone. It takes less than a minute to pull up his schedule and send it to Shiro with a teasing message. It could be flirtatious, could just be their regular banter. It’s always been a fine line and Keith isn’t good about knowing which side of it he’s stepping onto at any given time.

He smiles at Shiro’s almost instant reply and then drags himself back to his feet to shed his Blades suit and get ready for bed. He sends one last message to his mom before turning out the lights, requesting to meet before breakfast so he can explain the situation.

 

* * *

 

Shiro shuffles into the large dining room with bleary eyes. The water in his shower was cold but it still wasn’t enough to wake him fully. Only caffeine or some equivalent could accomplish that with the travel lag still lingering in his bones this morning.

“Morning,” Keith says, appearing suddenly at his side. Shiro jumps. “Easy,” Keith soothes through a laugh. “Forgot you haven’t had coffee yet.”

“There  _ is _ coffee, right?”

“Yes. It’s even Earth coffee. Decent brew, too. Or at least it was when I got up.”

Shiro shoots him a half-hearted glare. “Why are you so awake?”

“Been up for an hour and a half already, old man. Caffeine's already kicked in.”

“Mph.” Shiro finds an empty seat and collapses in it. “Coffee?” he asks, looking up at Keith with hope in his eyes.

Keith snorts. “Fine, I’ll go get your coffee.”

Shiro smiles beatifically and closes his eyes as soon as Keith walks off. He thinks he might have actually dozed off because Keith is back within seconds with a large mug of coffee in his hands. He sets it down in front of Shiro and then claims the seat to his left.

Shiro inhales the steam and lets out a small groan. “It’s been weeks since I had actual coffee. Our stores ran out on the Atlas and we haven’t been by anywhere to purchase any at a decent price.”

“You’re paid enough to buy a personal bag for emergencies, Shiro,” Keith points out.

“I feel like I should suffer with everyone else.” Shiro takes a cautious sip and his eyes slip shut again as the coffee hits his tongue. It’s strong and hot and just this side of overly sweet, exactly how he likes it. 

“Good?” Keith asks. Shiro can hear the laughter behind the word but he’s too happy to mind being teased.

“So good. You always make it perfect.”

“I just dumped a bunch of sugar in it,” Keith protests, nudging his arm. “I had nothing to do with brewing it.”

“The perfect amount of sugar. No one else ever gets it right.”

“That’s because you trick everyone into thinking you drink it black.”

Shiro doesn’t deny it, just smiles sleepily at Keith over the rim of his mug. It’s sappy and a bit domestic but it’s allowed to be today and he’s prepared to enjoy these moments as much as possible.

“Want me to make you a plate while you finish communing with your coffee?” Keith asks.

“Yes please.” Something in his chest purrs in delight that Keith knows exactly how he likes his coffee and what he’ll want for breakfast.

He sits and sips his coffee while he waits for Keith to return, coming to full awareness by degrees. He tilts the mug up to get the last few drops of the precious coffee and when he sets it down, there’s food in front of him.

“You’re the best,” Shiro gushes, eyes skimming over the plate and landing on the steaming mug of coffee that Keith also brought.

“I feel like you’re talking to the coffee more than me,” Keith teases.

Shiro turns to look at Keith and beams at him. “You’re my favorite. I like you more than coffee.”

Keith laughs, ducking his head. Shiro sees the blush spreading across his cheeks anyways. “High compliment coming from you.”

Shiro leans over and pecks his cheek before turning back to the spread of food in front of him. It’s a mixture of recognizable breakfast food and alien choices. Shiro knows better than to speculate what kind of eggs were used to make the scrambled eggs heaped on his plate. They’re tinted a little too blue to be from any source he knows. The sausages are another almost familiar item that are still a bit tangier than he expects.

Shiro pokes at something that looks vaguely like a root vegetable for all that it is the color of spinach. “What’s this one?”

“Rilvian,” Keith answers. “Texture’s kind of like a potato but it’s bitter? Reminded me a bit of those salt and vinegar chips you used to eat, but chewy.”

Shiro stabs a piece and tentatively tries it. The sharpness of vinegar hits his tongue and blooms, cut by the inherent saltiness of the rilvian. “Good,” he says through his mouthful.

“They’re from Thrilix in the Yuvian quadrant. They’re just starting to export them on a more regular basis. I think Mrs. Holt is trying to figure out how to grow them off planet.”

Shiro grins at him. “You think she’s ever going to convince any of us to actually call her Colleen?”

“She keeps telling me to but it feels wrong,” Keith says.

“Me too. Feel like someone’s going to scold me if I do.” He tries another vegetable and scrunches up his nose.

“Not a fan of that one?”

“Tastes like carrots,” Shiro says, reaching for his coffee to wash the taste away.

“Sorry,” Keith says, barely holding back his laughter. “I tried to avoid anything that even looked like a carrot. Thought those were furlats but they must be golians.” He steals one off Shiro’s plate and eats it.

“Perhaps you should pay better attention so you don’t provide your mate with inadequate food options,” an unwelcome voice interrupts.

Shiro looks up and finds Varlan taking a seat across the table from them. The Rinistian is dressed in a deep blue tunic that stands out against his green skin and sets off the darker green stripes on his face and neck.

“It was a simple mistake,” Shiro says, not particularly caring that his voice is a shade frosty. “No harm done. He has provided me a more than adequate breakfast, even though he didn’t need to.” He sees Keith start turning pink and he leans in to press another quick kiss to his cheek.

“It is a mate’s duty to provide,” Varlan insists.

“I was not here when Keith had his own breakfast, that does not make me a bad mate,” Shiro argues. The morning had been going so well before now.

“Just a sleepy one,” Keith teases.

“The Blade-”

“Keith,” Shiro cuts in, voice low in warning.

“- should show appreciation for your  _ relationship _ .” Varlan’s voice drips with scorn on the last word, making it clear that he holds said relationship in contempt. “It is therefore his duty to properly provide and protect.”

Shiro’s head is spinning. It’s too early for this. Alien double standards are as tiring as human ones and it’s obvious there are some at play here. He sighs. “Ambassador, let me reassure you that Keith goes above and beyond in his efforts to protect me and provides well for me when the situation calls for it.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro catches the sharp-edged grin Keith tosses Varlan and has only a fraction of a second to steel himself for whatever is about to come out of his mouth. That particular expression never bodes well for Shiro’s peace of mind.

“Plus, I prefer showing my  _ appreciation _ to Shiro in private,” Keith drawls.

Shiro chokes. Keith just pats him on the knee, entirely unsympathetic to his plight.

Varlan bares his teeth, cheeks darkening. His jaw clenches and Shiro has the distinct impression that he’s having to try very hard not to let loose a barrage of insults directed at Keith.

Shiro’s smile is razor-thin. Seems the Rinistian remembers Shiro’s threat from last night and is taking it seriously.

He hurries through the rest of his breakfast, ready to be out of the now-tense atmosphere. Keith squeezes his knee, and peers at him anxiously. He turns his shoulders to block out Varlan before speaking.

“You okay?”

Shiro nods. “Just ready to go,” he says quietly. “Want to review the materials for the first set of meetings one more time.”

“I’m almost positive that you have them memorized by now,” Keith says, leaning back. The worry in his eyes has lessened and Shiro’s own shoulders relax a smidge.

“A review never hurts. I like to be prepared.” Shiro stabs the last piece of rilvian and washes it down with the last of his coffee.

Keith rolls his eyes. “I feel like you’re just reviewing so I have to look at the material for my meetings.”

“It’s a nice bonus,” he shoots back with a smirk. He leans in closer. “I bet you already have it all memorized too.”

Keith shoves at his shoulder, barely biting back a smile. The blush across his cheekbones is beautiful. “Come on, I have a reputation to maintain.”

“You’re a Senior Blade, I’m pretty sure people have caught on to the fact that you’re good at the boring things. It can’t all be piloting and close combat.”

Keith sighs dramatically. “If only.”

“Come on, flyboy,” Shiro says, getting to his feet. Keith’s hair is loose around his shoulders so he ruffles it, startling a squawk out of him. “Let’s go get ready.”

“Going to have to spend that time on my hair now,” Keith grumbles, running his fingers through the thick strands, trying to get them back in some semblance of order.

“I’ll help. Only fair since I messed it up.” Sounds perfectly altruistic, Shiro thinks proudly. Not at all like the excuse to get his hands in Keith’s hair again that it is.

“Damn right it is,” Keith agrees. He reaches over and slides his hand into Shiro’s, tangling their fingers together.

Shiro swallows hard. His metal fingers feel clumsy up against Keith’s slim ones. He can feel the heat of his hand and the pressure of his grip, can even feel the drag of calluses against the synthetic surface but it’s just different enough from the sensations of his flesh hand that it sends him reeling.

His heart feels overfull with the knowledge that Keith reaches for either of his hands without hesitation.

It takes a minute to realize that Keith kept walking after linking their hands. A squeeze gets his attention. Keith and his hand are ten feet away in the doorway. He raises an eyebrow at Shiro who blushes and hurries over, not sparing a glance for the Rinistian behind him. He can feel Varlan’s eyes on him and he’s ready to be rid of them.

“Get distracted?” Keith ribs gently once they’re out the door.

“Something like that,” he agrees. This time when Keith leads him down the hall by his floating hand, Shiro follows.

 

* * *

 

Shiro is met with a sharptoothed smile from Krolia as soon as he walks into his first meeting. His heart stops for a full second before exploding into a frenzied pace. He’d managed to forget that he would have to face her while pretending to date her son.

He has no illusions that he can hide anything from her. He is quite certain Krolia can see straight to the heart of him and his feelings. He manages to keep walking towards her, a slightly wobbly smile on his face.

“Good to see you, ma’am. It’s been awhile.”

“You too, Shiro,” she says, smile not losing any of its edge. He swallows hard.

“I take it Keith filled you in?” He asks quietly, glancing around to make sure no one is close enough to listen in. They’re both early so the room is mostly empty.

“He did, yes.” One of her eyebrows ticks up and it’s a familiar expression. Keith’s worn it countless times. “I don’t need to tell you not to hurt my son.”

“I won’t,” he swears. His own heart is in jeopardy but he’ll do everything he can to make sure Keith’s is unharmed.

She stares at him for a moment longer and then her face softens. “You know the Rinistian will be in quite a few of the same meetings as us.”

Shiro sighs. “Does everyone know my schedule?”

Krolia just slants him a look. “Keith put it in our system.”

“Of course he did.” He smiles slightly but it drops when he remembers what Krolia said. “And I’m guessing he pulled Ambassador Varlan’s schedule after last night.”

“He did,” she confirms with a nod of her head. “I am also in most of the meetings you share with him but there are a couple where you are on your own. I believe Keith is working on getting a last minute seat in those meetings.”

Shiro raises his eyebrows, amusement bubbling up. “I can survive a meeting on my own. I’ve had a regrettable amount of practice.”

Krolia’s lips twitch. “I am aware. I think it’s more a lack of trust of the Rinistian and wanting to make sure you have backup.”

He nods. “Okay. But if he can’t get a seat, I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.”

“Of course.” She eyes him, gaze sharp and knowing. “It is always easier with one’s partner at your side, though.”

“I always prefer to have Keith at my side, ma’am,” he says, the statement unvarnished truth.

She nods her head, obviously coming to a decision about something. “You are everything I’d want for my son’s mate, Shiro.” She smiles, small and secretive. “Don’t mess this up.”

He gulps and nods. He doesn't quite know what to do with Krolia's approval in this situation but he is relieved to have it nonetheless. Krolia claps his shoulder and wanders off to greet one of the other ambassadors.

Shiro draws in a breath and goes to do the same. It’s going to be a long day, he can already tell.

 

The meetings are long and far less productive than Shiro would prefer. Most of the discussions have little to do with Earth and its environs, but as an established Coalition hub, the planet still needs to be represented.

They’re nearing the break for lunch and Shiro cannot wait. Keith will be there and also in one of his post-lunch meetings and he’s eager to get to that portion of his day. Somehow knowing Keith is in the same building but not with him is worse than knowing he’s several galaxies away. It exacerbates  that feeling of _almost but not quite_ _together_ that Shiro should really be used to by now when it comes to Keith but never will be.

Despite a full morning of Varlan’s presence, the Rinistian has done nothing more aggressive than staring at Shiro. The fact that he is barely competent as a diplomat and hides his lack of knowledge behind a smarmy expression and undeserved confidence grates on Shiro. The more he learns about Varlan, the less he likes him.

He listens to the ambassador from Florox discuss the current trade restrictions in their system and how the proposed amendments would impact their economy and starts counting the dobashes until lunch. It’s fewer than ten and he fights the urge to start tapping his fingers on the table.

“Your concerns have been noted,” the moderator, a rather short Trilt with six arms and alarmingly pink fur, tells the Floroxian ambassador. “We will take them in consideration as the trading agreements are reviewed tomorrow.”

The Floroxian flicks their ears in agreement, and the moderator looks around the table. “I believe we’ve covered everything on the schedule. If there are no urgent matters to discuss, I think we should convene a few dobashes earlier. Lunch awaits!”

Everyone chimes in with their agreement and the moderator’s pink fur is practically vibrating with anticipation as they dismiss everyone.

Shiro stands and stretches out his back, spine popping in several places after sitting in one position for two vargas. Krolia rests a hand on his shoulder and smiles.

“I’ll see you this evening, Shiro,” she tells him. “Tell Keith to behave himself when you see him. I feel he needs the reminder.”

Shiro grins. “I can try, but he’s not likely to listen to me.”

She laughs and it feels a bit like a victory. Like Keith, smiles and laughs from Krolia have to be earned. “If you can’t make him listen, the rest of us have no hope.”

She’s still smiling as she walks away. Shiro gathers his datapad and water bottle and heads for the exit as well.

Varlan is waiting for him in the hallway, face twisted in a sneer. “So you only accept advances from Galra, is that it?”

Shiro’s eyebrows draw together and he takes a step back from the looming Rinistian. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been close to the Daibazaal representative all morning,” Varlan says. He takes a step forward, eliminating the distance Shiro had put between them. His eyes bore down on Shiro’s shoulder. “She was just touching you.”

Shiro barely chokes back a laugh. “You mean Krolia?”

“Yes, the Daibazaal representative.” He hisses another word that Shiro’s translator doesn’t catch. It doesn’t sound pleasant.

“It is none of your concern, but Krolia is family to me,” Shiro says firmly. “For your own sake, I’d refrain from insulting her any further.”

He turns to go and a heavy hand, scaled and tipped with curving claws lands on his shoulder. “You are not Galra. She is not your kin.”

Shiro swatted Varlan’s hand away, annoyance rising to a fever pitch. “Family does not have to be dictated by blood.”

“He’s right.” Varlan and Shiro both stiffen as Krolia’s voice wash over them, smooth and laced with danger. “Family and kin are not bound to blood relatives, Ambassador.” 

His face washes out to a paler green and Shiro can see his throat bob with a swallow.

“And even if it was,” Krolia continues, “Keith is my son and Shiro is his mate. That makes Shiro my son-in-law. Bound family.”

Shiro doesn’t recognize the term and is unsure if it’s Galran or Rinistian.

Varlan’s nose twitches. “Apologies for the misunderstanding,” he mutters before stalking off.

“I feel like saving me runs in the family,” Shiro jokes once he’s gone.

“You had it handled,” Krolia says. “Just thought I could help speed things along. I didn’t want to get interrogated by my son as to why you were late to lunch.”

Shiro laughs. “Fair enough. We should head that way then.”

She nods and they head down the corridor towards the dining hall.

“You said son-in-law, earlier,” he says, breaking the silence.

“To Galra, a mate bond is equivalent to marriage,” Krolia states.

“Oh,” Shiro says, a little faint. “Fake married. Okay. I thought this was a fake dating situation but, um, yeah. Married.”

Krolia’s lips quirked up at the corners. “Yes, Shiro, married. At least in the Galra view. I believe the Rinistian ambassador is under the impression it is more like dating, as well. It isn’t overly important because of the situation, but I thought it might put Varlan off.”

Shiro thanks her on autopilot, brain still circling around the idea of being  _ married _ to Keith. If only he was so lucky. He clenches his left hand, ring finger suddenly aching with the lack of weight around it.

They’re close enough to the dining hall to hear the low buzz of conversation when Shiro remembers his other question. He turns to ask Krolia about the term “bound family” but she’s disappeared, apparently having turned down one of the side corridors without a sound.

Shiro shakes his head and picks up his pace, ready to find Keith in the lunch crowd. It doesn’t take long, Keith is waiting near the doorway, arms crossed. He raises his eyebrows as soon as he sets eyes on Shiro but he can’t help the uptick of his lips in response to Shiro’s own smile.

“You’re late,” Keith says once Shiro is in earshot. “Almost everyone else from your meeting is already here.”

“Got held up,” Shiro hedges. He leans down and plants a kiss on Keith’s cheek before even checking the room for Varlan. He catches sight of the tall, green alien already seated at a table and turns his attention back to Keith, catching the blush on his cheeks before it fades.

He hadn’t ever realized quite how easily Keith blushes before. It seems like it’s something he should have noticed over the years. Perhaps the situation they’re in just lends itself to blushing.

“Trouble?”

“Little bit,” Shiro admits. “Your mom gave me an assist to get out of it. Sent Varlan running off with his metaphorical tail between his legs.”

Keith snickers. “Nice.”

“Come on,” Shiro urges, herding Keith towards the food tables with a hand at the small of his back. The heat that Keith always radiates almost burns Shiro through the material of the Blade uniform. “I’m hungry and I need energy to survive an afternoon of meetings.”

“I’ll let you pick your own food this time,” Keith says, tilting his face towards Shiro’s with a smile.

It would be so,  _ so _ easy to lean down and kiss it off his face, Shiro thinks. Everything in him yearns for it but it’s still off limits, regardless of their act. “Not going to provide me my food like a proper Rinistian mate?” He teases, poking him in the ribs.

Keith cocks an eyebrow. “Neither of us are Rinistian, so, no.”

“Spoilsport.”

“I will find every food you don’t like and bring it to you if you’re not careful.”

“I wonder if that’s equivalent to announcing you want to break up,” Shiro muses.

“Dangerous,” Keith mutters as they start piling food on their plates, “could end up with a face full of food.”

Shiro nods. “I’m not sure if a food fight breakup is better or worse than a really uncomfortable talk.”

Keith just shrugs and snags a few pieces of what Shiro always calls Galran chicken. The actual name is nigh on unpronounceable for his vocal cords and it tastes almost identical to Terran chicken. He grabs a few pieces for himself too.

When they’ve filled their plates, Shiro follows Keith to a couple of empty seats, noting they’re about as far away from Varlan as they can get.

Keith wastes no time in getting to the topic he wants to discuss. “So, what was the trouble? I’m assuming if Mom stepped in it was with Varlan?”

Shiro snorts. “He thought I was getting cozy with your mom because we sat next to each other in most of the meetings and she touched my shoulder before leaving.”

Keith closes his eyes and takes a measured breath, lets it out slowly. “Why are our lives so fucking weird all the time?”

“Keeps us from getting bored.” Shiro takes a bite of salad.

Keith shakes his head. “So he accused you of cheating on me, or what? I thought he was hoping that you were open to the idea.”

Shiro gives him a quick rundown of the conversation with Varlan and how Krolia showed up and shut him down completely.

“What does bound family mean?,” he asks when he’s finished. “I’ve never heard that term.”

A furrow forms between Keith’s brows. “Where’d you hear that? It’s an old Galran term. Archaic, really. No one really uses it.”

“Krolia told Varlan that I am bound family,” Shiro says, abandoning his food to watch Keith’s face. Something about his tone indicated this is more important than he’s letting on. Plus he wants to see his reaction. “That was right after telling him that I’m her son-in-law.”

Keith blanches, going pale before red creeps up his face. He takes a hasty sip of water. “Um, right.”

“Didn’t realize we were pretending to be married,” Shiro says, fighting to stay nonchalant. There’s a grin begging to break free. Their lives were, as Keith said, so fucking weird.

“What did you think we were doing?” Keith retorts, chin ticking up a notch.

“Fake dating. Fake married is fun too, though.” He purposefully takes a bite of food and chews slowly.

“Could just be fake engaged,” Keith mutters. “They usually use the term mates, too.”

Shiro really wishes he had a more thorough understanding of Galra culture. This particular facet has never been relevant to his life before and Keith’s never brought it up. He thinks he’ll squeeze in some research time tonight while preparing for meetings.

“So, bound family,” Shiro prompts. “Explain?”

“It’s kind of like saying in-laws,” Keith starts. “You aren’t blood family, you’re bound family, connected by the mate bond of a family member. It indicates a closer relationship than just in-laws, though, especially with how in-laws are seen on Earth a lot of the time. Not all Galra will claim family’s bond mates as true family, bound family is a way of saying that you’re true family, if that makes sense.”

“Well, I’m glad Krolia likes me enough to claim me as family.”

“Of course she does,” Keith retorts, knocking his shoulder against Shiro’s.

He doesn’t move away and they end up returning to their meal with their shoulders brushing with every slight movement. 

“Anything changed on your schedule?” Shiro asks as the room starts emptying, everyone going to search for the location of their next meeting.

Keith makes a face. “No. I tried to get into your next meeting since Varlan is there but the moderator said all the seats were filled.”

Shiro’s eyes are soft when he takes in Keith’s frustrated expression. “I’ll be okay, I promise.”

“I know. I believe in you.” Keith’s smirk does nothing to hide the absolute truth of his words. It knocks the breath out of Shiro. He desperately wants to kiss him, to show his gratitude for Keith’s unwavering faith in him since he can’t put it to words.

He settles for a tease instead of any of the too-true compliments that want to escape his lips. “I am your ever faithful fake husband,” he says, swaying closer to Keith, his familiar gravity pulling him in slowly. 

They’re so close. Shiro’s breath catches and he feels the warm flutter of Keith’s exhale skitter over his cheek. His eyes fall from the darkening galaxy of Keith’s eyes to his lips and watches them part on the tiniest gasp.

Shiro’s heart is pounding. He’s almost positive that he’s not imagining that this desire to fall forward into a kiss feels incredibly mutual.

His eyes are already half-lidded, sliding closed when an unwelcome voice breaks the moment.

“Fake husband?” Varlan purrs above them, a smug look on his face. “I knew one as small and unworthy as the Blade couldn’t really be your mate. You’ve played your little game, Admiral, and well, I admit.”

“I’m not playing any game,” Shiro replies, voice cold. He’s still reeling from the almost-kiss and somehow, Varlan is getting even more obnoxious, which he hadn’t thought possible unless he suddenly turned into Slav. “And I believe I told you not to insult my mate.”

Varlan angles himself towards Shiro, leaning down closer. Shiro recoils. “Don’t be coy. You were just doing all this to keep my attention on you. You have it, Shiro. You’re the perfect mate for me and I can’t wait to make you mine.”

He reaches out to trace a curved claw along Shiro’s jaw. Shiro raises a hand to knock it away but Keith is faster. He lets out a low growl, something that starts low in his chest and is nowhere close to human and sets Shiro’s blood on fire, and grabs Varlan’s wrist in a vise grip. Shiro can see the way the scaled surface of the Rinistian’s wrist warps under the pressure of Keith’s fingers.

Keith steps in between Shiro and Varlan, forcing him to step back without relinquishing his grip. “Don’t touch him. He is not yours.”

Varlan snarls. “He isn’t yours either.”

“No he isn’t. Shiro is a person, a better one than either one of us, and he belongs only to himself,” Keith answers. His voice is hard and Shiro wishes he could see his face. “He has made it very clear he is not interested in you as a mate but you refuse to listen.”

“Who are you to say?”

“Keith is my oldest and best friend as well as my partner,” Shiro cuts in. “I have chosen a mate, Ambassador, and it is not you. Please respect my choice.”

“I heard you,” the Rinistian hisses. “You are playing at being mates, it’s  _ fake _ .”

Keith bares his teeth. “He was making a joke, Varlan.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine. There is nothing fake about this,” Keith says. That’s the only warning Shiro gets before Keith’s face is right in front of his again. He cups Shiro’s cheek with a gentle touch and leans in with a slowness that is in direct contrast to the flying emotions of the past few minutes.

_ He’s giving me time to say no _ , Shiro realizes. His heart swells with affection and then he leans forward to close the distance between their lips. There’s no reality in which he doesn’t want to kiss Keith and, if there is, it’s not one worth considering.

The moment their lips meet, everything else ceases to exist for Shiro. He forgets that Varlan is watching them, that anyone still in the dining hall could be and probably is watching them. All that matters is the way their mouths slot together like they were formed specifically for this. Keith’s tongue swipes across his bottom lip and Shiro opens up for him.

_ More, more, more _ , his greedy heart demands, louder now than it has been at any point  through this whole thing, and Shiro is finally going to listen. If this is his only chance to kiss Keith, he’s going to make the absolute most of it. He settles his hands on Keith’s hips and holds on tight.

Shiro feels like he’s died and found a much better afterlife this time around when Keith slips his tongue into his mouth, the slide sure and confident and devastating. He is more than willing to stay in this moment, kissing Keith, for the rest of time.

Varlan’s growl breaks through their preoccupation and Keith jerks away, leaving Shiro bereft. He forces his eyes open just in time to see Varlan touch his second and fourth finger to his chin and draw them to the left violently. He gives them one more glare and then stalks off.

Shiro blinks after him. “What just happened?”

Keith flinches and pulls away. “He ceded his claim,” he says, voice flat. He’s pointedly looking at the wall instead of Shiro. “That’s what the hand gesture was. He’ll leave you alone now.”

“Okay,” he says. His mind is still entirely focused on the lingering sensation of Keith’s lips on his. He flicks his tongue out to wet his lips and is bombarded with the taste of him.

Keith swallows hard, having looked back at Shiro just in time to catch the gesture. “I’m sorry,” he croaks out. “I shouldn’t have… I need to…”

Worry presses in on Shiro and he reaches out. “Keith?”

Keith pulls away from Shiro’s touch like it burns and he drops his hand, heart falling to his feet. He doesn’t regret this kiss, but Keith obviously does and it  _ hurts _ .

“I’m sorry,” Keith repeats, voice rough. Before Shiro can force out his own apology, Keith turns and all but flees.

Shiro scrambles to his feet, ready to chase after him and figure out exactly what’s happening. His datapad chimes the five minute warning for his meeting and he freezes, torn. He wants to go to Keith and make sure that he’s okay, that they’re okay, but he has responsibilities to attend to and his next meeting is one that actually affects Earth. He has to be there, no matter how much he wants to blow it off.

He grits his teeth and leaves through a different door than Keith took, hurrying through the hallways so he’s not late and hating that every step puts distance between them. All he can hope for is that Keith will let him erase this distance later, will let him fix whatever broke in the dining hall and made him run.

He’s never wanted his feelings to make Keith uncomfortable. It’s the main reason he’s hidden them away all these years and he can’t stand the thought that Keith might’ve detected them in that kiss and ran because of them.

Shiro takes a deep breath and walks into the meeting, ignoring the acid look Varlan throws him. He takes his seat just before the moderator calls them to order.

He makes it through the afternoon on autopilot. The meetings go well enough and his biggest problem in most of them is Varlan’s bad attitude which he really couldn’t care less about. He thinks he lost a few years off his lifespan when Kolivan walked into one of his last meetings of the day. Keith, who is supposed to accompany him, is conspicuously absent. Shiro doesn’t know how to interpret the look Kolivan gives him and just shrinks in on himself.

The moment the meeting lets out, Shiro leaves, not wanting to risk verbal confirmation from Kolivan of his worst fears. His own brain is doing an excellent job of informing him of all the varied ways he has potentially fucked up the best relationship he has all on its own.

Anxiety creeps up his spine and pours into the pit of his stomach during his last meeting. His fingers tap a nervous rhythm on his thigh, drawing an inquisitive snort from the Frilt ambassador seated to his left. Shiro offers a tight smile in apology and forcibly stills his fingers.

Shiro is the first one out the door when the moderator calls the meeting to an end. He weaves his way through the slow moving crowd in the hallway, most of whom are lingering to catch up with friends and make plans for dinner. His stomach turns when he so much as thinks of food or the dining hall. He can’t go back there until he fixes whatever he messed up with Keith.

He turns towards the residential wing and navigates the maze of corridors until he finds the bloc of rooms assigned to the Daibazaal contingent. All he can do is hope that Keith retreated to his room and is still there. When Keith runs he usually goes somewhere familiar and secure. Shiro is pretty sure his room is the closest he can get to that description at the summit since he didn’t fly his personal ship here. If he’s hiding somewhere else in the building, Shiro has absolutely no chance of finding him.

He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door labeled with Keith’s name. There’s no response.

Shiro knocks again.

“Go away,” Keith’s muffled voice answers. “I already told you I’m fine and don’t need to talk about it.”

“Well, I might,” Shiro answers, pitching his voice loud enough to carry through the door. “And I don’t know who you told that to but it wasn’t me.”

Silence drags on for long, interminable seconds and Shiro wonders if Keith is just going to try to ignore him until he goes away. It won’t work. Shiro still has more patience than Keith and he is more than willing to weaponize it in this case.

“We don’t have to do this,” Keith finally says. It sounds like he’s right on the other side of the door now.

Shiro leans his forehead against the metal panel separating them. “Do what?”

He sighs. “Have this conversation. We can just pretend none of this happened.” His voice cracks over the second half of the sentence. He sounds absolutely wrecked. 

He sounds like how Shiro feels.

“Keith. Please let me in,” Shiro pleads. “Don’t make me have this conversation through a door.”

Shiro manages to pull in five measured breaths before he hears the click of a disengaging lock.

The door slides open and Keith is standing there, eyes shining with moisture and a bit disheveled overall in his tshirt and sweats and his hair loose. He’s beautiful and Shiro drinks in the sight of him.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you coming in?” Keith asks.

Shiro answers by stepping over the threshold. Keith barely looks at him as he leads him into the main room of his suite. He chooses one side of the small sofa to sit on and Shiro claims the other cushion.

Keith draws his knees up to his chest and fixes his eyes on Shiro, expression giving away nothing. “You’re the one who wanted to talk, Shiro. I’m not starting this conversation.”

It’s hard to swallow around the heart in his throat but Shiro tries anyways. He’s been waiting for this talk all day and he’s still not ready. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be ready but this whole fake relationship has been a fullspeed race and that kiss has driven them over a cliff. They’re still in freefall and he has to figure out what the right course of action is to avoid a crash that will take them both out in the wreckage.

“Why did you run?” Shiro asks, words falling out of his mouth gracelessly.

Keith’s face slackens in disbelief, a huff of laughter completely devoid of humor escaping him. “Seriously, Shiro?”

Shiro flinches, looking down at his lap. There’s no use in trying to hide his hurt, not when it’s a full bodied, throbbing thing. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, digging his fingers into his knees, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“What?” Keith shifts closer to him, hand landing on his shoulder. “Shiro, I’m the one who kissed  _ you _ without asking. You have nothing to apologize for, okay?”

“You gave me plenty of time to avoid the kiss if I wanted to,” Shiro says. He keeps his eyes trained on his hands. If he looks at Keith right now everything he feels might spill out through all the cracks in his defenses. “But you wouldn’t even  _ look _ at me afterwards and you ran and I thought…”

“You thought…” There’s a lilt of hope in Keith’s voice and his hand moves from Shiro’s shoulder to his jaw, gently coaxing Shiro to look at him.

Shiro swallows and meets the deep violet of Keith’s gaze. “I thought maybe you realized that I haven’t been faking anything,” he says quietly, honesty bleeding from every word like an open wound. “I thought you realized how I feel about you and it made you uncomfortable enough to run.”

He sees the moment the meaning behind his words sink in. Keith sucks in a sharp breath and his eyes go wide. His hand falls from Shiro’s face and Shiro feels the loss keenly.

“Shiro…”

He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to ignore the burning buildup of tears. “I’m sorry,” he rasps out again. “I know you don’t feel that way about me and it was wrong for me to ask you to pretend to be with me when I have feelings for you but…”

“Shiro, stop talking,” Keith cuts in. He rests his hand on where Shiro’s prosthetic is busy pressing bruises into his kneecap, touch so achingly gentle that it  _ hurts _ .

“No, I need you to know that I won’t let this affect anything. I can’t lose you, Keith. You’re too important to me.”

“Shiro, look at me.” The note of command in Keith’s voice has Shiro obeying before he can think better of it. He opens his eyes to find a wobbly smile on Keith’s face and it throws him for a loop. 

“One,” Keith starts, “you’re important to me too. You’re the most important person in my life, but you’re not allowed to tell Kosmo that.” Shiro snorts in spite of himself. “Two, stop assuming you know how I feel before you even ask.”

Shiro’s brows draw together. “What?”

Keith shifts closer until their thighs are pressed together. “Shiro, do you remember what I said before I kissed you? I meant it. Nothing about that or anything else we’ve done has been fake for me either.”

Shiro’s lips part in surprise and he can feel his heart flutter in his chest. “Keith…” His voice is breathless and he can’t get any other words out, just repeats his name again like a prayer, like it’s the only thing that matters. As far as Shiro is concerned, it is.

“Shiro, I’ve been in love with you since before you left on the Kerberos mission,” Keith says. He brings his hand back up to cup Shiro’s cheek. “That’s almost a solid decade at this point for me. Of course none of this was fake. It was like getting to make my dreams reality for once.”

“Me too,” Shiro breathes. He lays a hand on top of Keith’s keeping it in place. “I thought I was too late, that it took me too long to figure out how I feel about you and you’d moved on.”

The corner of Keith’s mouth pulls to the side for a moment. “I can’t say that I didn’t try but it never worked.”

“I can tell you horror stories of me trying to go on dates while knowing I was in love with you,” Shiro quips.

Keith’s mouth falls open in shock and it takes a moment for Shiro to realize why.

“So, that wasn’t really how I was planning on confessing,” Shiro says slowly.

“What was the plan?”

“Repressing it into eternity so we could stay friends without complicating things?” He offers with a wince.

“Nice. That was my plan too,” Keith says with a nod. There’s a smile tugging at his lips. 

Shiro laughs. “Well, we were on the same page, at least.”

“I think I like being on this page better,” Keith retorts. He sweeps his thumb over Shiro’s cheek, catching on a hint of stubble.

“I love you,” Shiro blurts out, not wanting to hold the words caged inside him any longer now that he knows they will be welcomed.

Keith surges forward and kisses Shiro, knocking him back against the arm of the sofa. Shiro is more than on board with this course of action. He wraps an arm around Keith and pulls him closer, melting into the cushions when Keith throws a leg over his lap to straddle him and deepen the kiss.

Keith finally pulls back to suck in a breath, resting his forehead on Shiro's. “I love you too, in case that wasn't clear,” he says, bumping his nose against the side of Shiro's. His fingers tease the line where hair meets skin on the back of Shiro's neck, pulling a shiver from him.

“Mmm, I think we both better be very clear about saying it from now on,” Shiro says. “We have a bad track record.”

“Often and clear,” Keith agrees. He leans in for another kiss, slow and sweet and reassuring instead of the hot, demanding slide from a moment ago.

It slips into another kiss and then another and another until Shiro has completely lost count. He’s drowning in the honeyed pleasure of being surrounded by Keith, of being devoured by him. Each slide of their tongues and lips drags him deeper and he never wants to resurface.

His hand is under Keith’s shirt, spread wide over the warm skin of his back, when there’s a knock at the door. They jolt apart and Keith growls under his breath. Shiro’s hips hitch up at the sound, earning a dangerous smirk from the man in his lap.

“Yo, I know you said you don’t want to talk but I really think you need to,” Lance’s voice calls out. “Hiding in your room and skipping dinner is not generally the definition of ‘fine.’”

“Lance, go away,” Keith calls back.

“Nope, I’m not letting you sit in there and mope and be in denial.”

“Lance,” Keith says again, impatience lacing his words, “You interrupted me making out with Shiro. Leave.”

There’s a beat of silence before, “You’re messing with me.”

“He’s really not,” Shiro confirms.

Lance lets out a joyful whoop. “Finally!” he yells. “Okay, I’ll tell Allura she can stop trying to find Shiro. Have fun you two, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Keith presses his face into Shiro’s shoulder. “Make him go away.”

“Lance,” Shiro says, voice overly sweet in the way he knows sounds threatening, “go away.”

He laughs and then they hear his steps moving away from the door.

Keith sits up and moves to tangle fingers in Shiro’s hair. He tugs firmly, pulling his head back and Shiro’s breath catches. “Now, where were we?”

 

* * *

 

When they emerge for breakfast the next morning, Krolia just rolls her eyes at them. Lance and Allura both beam at the pair of them from across the dining hall where they’re trapped in a conversation with the ambassadorial couple from Yult, but Shiro knows that excited glimmer in Allura’s eyes means nothing but trouble.

Keith squeezes his hand and detaches from him to go get their coffee while Shiro piles up a plate of food with their favorites. He finishes scooping some of the vinegary rilvian he’d liked yesterday onto the plate and turns to head to the table, almost running into Varlan in the process.

“Ambassador,” Shiro greets, carefully neutral.

Varlan’s gaze drops down to where  the bruise Keith left him is peeking out over the edge of Shiro’s collar. “I see your mate has marked you properly now,” he says stiffly. “Best wishes for your happiness.”

Shiro’s impressed he doesn’t choke on the words and just nods in lieu of an answer before stepping around the Rinistian. Keith is waiting for him at the breakfast table and nothing is more important than that.

Shiro smiles brightly at his partner, his future mate, and leans down to kiss him softly as he sets their breakfast down. His coffee is perfect, as it always is when Keith makes it, and his happiness couldn’t be more absolute.

“I really do love you more than coffee,” Shiro tells him with a crooked grin.

Keith laughs and shoves at Shiro’s shoulder before hauling him back in for another kiss.

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me generally drowning in a pool of fake dating ideas on [twitter](https://twitter.com/LionessNapping) and [tumblr](http://perfectlyrose.tumblr.com).
> 
> I have some more content planned in this verse about Galra mating bonds and events between Lance's interruption and breakfast the next morning planned, so keep an eye out for that, if you want.


End file.
